The Reality of Fasting

THE REALITY OF FASTING The Quran states, “… whoever of you is present in that month, let him fast; but he who is ill or on a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. God desires ease for you, not hardship. He desires you to fast the whole month, so that you may glorify Him for His having guided you and so that you may be grateful to Him.” (The Quran, 2:185) The word ‘grateful’ is related to fasting in the above verse of the Quran. Fasting, essentially, serves as training in inculcating the spirit of thanksgiving in a believer. Food and water are great blessings of God, yet man is incapable of attaching due importance to them. While fasting, he goes hungry and thirsty the whole day, then at sunset, in a state of extreme hunger and thirst, he eats and drinks to his fill. He then realizes through his own experience how great are the blessings of God which are present in the form of food and water. This experience produces boundless feelings of gratitude towards his Lord in a person. Fasting in the whole month of Ramadan means abstaining from food and drink for the whole of every day of that month. For eleven months of the year, man experiences what food and drink are and for one month of the year he experiences what it is like to not eat or drink. It is the experience of a life without food, after a life with food. It is the experience of a disciplined life after a life of freedom. Food is the symbol of God having built a great life-support system in this world especially for man. In this vast universe, there are innumerable stars and planets, but this life support system is found only on the earth. The month of fasting is, in fact, a reminder of this great blessing.